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Thursday, November 20, 2003 4:51 AM
[email protected]
RE: [anusim] Re: Who is REALLY vs the Anusim
Dear Mr. Freund,
Months ago I asked you to be transparent on the process, and the way Amishav was
handling the conversion issue. No answer was ever issued, nor I ever hoped one
forthcoming. I have largely remained silent because at the very least, the Chuetas of
Mallorca and the Jews of Belmonte were getting some attention, despite some historical and
dialectical inconsistencies sustained in your newsletters that I rather not pay attention
to. I did not want to hinder in any way the hopes infused on those two communities,
specially because they have been abandoned by Sephardim.
The very fact when you say that you are working with the "Chief Rabbinate" is
misleading. There is more than one Chief Rabbinate in Israel -- as you well know, and the
one we must fall under is the Sephardic Rabbinate, because we are Sephardic Jews with
specific customs and ways in living under the halakha. To date, there has not been a
single public announcement from the Sephardic Chief Rabbinate, nor any outward signs of
them getting involved regarding this issue. Silence is a powerful message.
I speak with authority because I have spent the last five years of my life studying
the responsa on the Anusim from the 12th to the 18th century, so I know what I am talking
about. I have spoken with Sephardic scholars and Dayyanim, and even them cannot refute me.
When there is a legal dispute that clearly is going against Jewish law, Jewish Law allows
me to challenge it. What do you take us for?
Anusim in general are highly sensitive to issues of clerical hierarchy and iron-fist
self-pontified authorities, after all we survived the onslaught of that monster created by
the Spanish State, the Christian-only State. The fact that we are still here as members of
the Jewish Nation more than proves the strength of Israel. We would be fools, absolute
fools to believe on people who claim to do us a favor, like the Church once did. Been
there, done that.
Transparency, Mr. Freund, transparency. Tranparency = Honesty. And being honest is
part of a great mitsvá. And as mitsva-compliant Jew, I am sure you like to be honest.
Although formally Anusim do not need any conversion process, Anusim have to know in full,
so they can make up their own decision. After all, being a Jew is also a matter of choice.
Until we see a full explanation on how things are being handled, with all halakhic
explanation appended to it, I will retire my attacks on your organization and issue a
formal apology. After all, it is our lives you're playing with , at least Amishav or any
other organization who "helps" Anusim owes us this much.
My deep apologies to Mr. Bonet for being harsh; I was not aware of the background
that triggered in writing such letter. For the future, I would kindly ask Mr. Bonet to
submit any drafts to the Anusim groups, before we decide what to sign. We all have to
agree on what to sign, because being a Jew is also a matter of communal agreement, and in
no way anyone has the authority to speak for all of us.
Shabbat Shalom.
David
-----Original Message----From:
Sent: Monday, November 17, 2003 9:36 AM
To: [email protected];
Subject: Re: [anusim] Re: Who is REALLY vs the Anusim
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Dear Mr. Freund
What you and Mr. Ramirez wrote about Amishav, we can conclude that - behind the scenes there is only a game of interests and political power.
We saw this movie more than 500 years ago !
Thank you very much for your concern in my return or conversion. But I really don't need
that !
Best regards
J. Geraldo
>
>Though I generally remain silent on this list, I feel compelled to
>reply to David Ramirez for his unprovoked and ad hominem attack on
>Amishav and others. Though he states at the end of his message that he
>"does not want to spread Lashon Hara", that is precisely what he spends
>most of his message doing, speaking authoritatively about things of
>which he has no knowledge and falsely attributing ulterior motives
>where there are none. Hence - and this is but one minor example - he
>suggests that Amishav prefers
>to get Anousim to "convert" rather than "return" to Judaism, "as prescribed
>by our Rabbanim of Sefarad, as left by the tendencies of the Geonim, as
>defended by God Himself". While I will not presume to speak for G-d, I can
>say that we have been working closely with Israel's Chief Rabbinate to
>re-create the "return" mechanism for Anousim which existed during the
>Middle
>Ages, with the aim of restoring this option to modern use so that Anousim
>need not be subjected to what is termed "conversion". We have also
>intentionally called our Spanish-language ulpan in Jerusalem a "Conversion
>and Return Institute" for this reason, making it the only such institution
>in Israel. Thus, Ramirez is absolutely incorrect in his assertion. Indeed,
>the fact of the matter is that all of our work is carried out in full
>consultation and coordination with Israel's Chief Rabbinate, under their
>guidance and with their approval. Our goal is to help the Anousim, and to
>do
>so by working fully within, and together with, "the system" - as that is
>not
>only the right thing to do, but it is also the best way to make progress
>that will be lasting and effective.
>It saddens me to see that some people on this list prefer to expend
>precious
>time and energies needlessly criticizing others rather than trying to do
>something constructive - I hope that at least on this point, Mr. Ramirez
>can
>agree.
>
>Michael Freund
>Director, Amishav
>
>
>
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